Gritting her teeth, she pulled her wallet from her purse and slid a credit card across the counter.
He glanced down at it. “Can’t use a credit card for something less than ten dollars.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Well, I just spent the last of my cash at the grocery store.”
“Then I guess you’re out of luck.” He folded his arms over his chest.
“Guess Perkins credit is no good here?” she asked sarcastically, shoving her card back into her wallet. “Tell you what. I’ll just take my business somewhere else.”
“Put it on my account,” a distinctive male voice said.
Jason materialized beside her. She wondered how much he’d overheard and her stomach cramped in embarrassment. “Thanks but that’s not necessary. I can pick up a flashlight at another store.”
“Hey, Corwin, you know who that is?” the clerk asked.
“What I know is that’s no way to treat a lady, Burt.” Jason stared at the man, a frown on his handsome face.
Burt scratched his bald head. “That’s not a lady, that’s a-”
“I said put it on my tab.” Jason grabbed the flashlight in one hand, her elbow in another, and led her out of the store.
Once on the sidewalk she looked him over in broad daylight. He appeared even more handsome than last night. He wore faded jeans and a black turtleneck. Razor stubble covered his cheeks, giving him a scruffy, sexy appearance, and her stomach fluttered in excitement.
“I looked all over for you last night.” He studied her just as intently.
“I left.”
“Places to go, people to see?” he asked wryly. “Or were you just avoiding me?”
He’d hit a nerve and she straightened her shoulders. “Avoiding a conversation we didn’t need to have.”
“You should know that I intend to have that talk sometime.”
Not here, where anyone could see them. “You really didn’t have to put the flashlight on your tab,” she said, changing the subject. “But I appreciate it.”
He inclined his head, accepting her thanks. “There was no call for Burt to treat you that way,” he said gruffly.
She shrugged, unconcerned with the other man’s rudeness. “Maybe he had his reasons. I wasn’t about to ask what my grandmother or sister did to piss him off. But don’t worry, I’ll pay you back.”
He rolled his eyes. He didn’t care about the money. “Flashlight’s on me.” He held it out for her.
She took it, avoiding his touch. “Thanks.”
But he stepped closer, his body looming over her. “So how much longer are we going to do this dance?”
“What dance?” She knew playing dumb wasn’t the answer but the words slipped out.
“The one where you avoid telling me why you didn’t just admit who you were last night?”
She had no rational reply. Last night, it had made a kind of crazy sense. She’d wanted to watch from afar, see him again and walk away. In the light of day it seemed plain silly.
“Why didn’t you just tell me you recognized me?” she asked instead.
He shrugged. “You seemed to need the anonymity. And frankly, pretending to have sex with a stranger kind of turned me on.” The corners of his mouth pulled up in a wicked, sexy grin.
His words set her entire body aflame, much the way his hands had last night.
“You look good,” he said, his voice thick.
“Thank you. So do you.” His dark hair was still as thick, his eyes still as blue and his body as hard and-
“I heard you ask Burt for the name of a contractor?”
She nodded, grateful he’d interrupted her thoughts before they could get X-rated. “Do you know of one?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. Jason Corwin, contractor, at your service.” He swept his hand through the air and executed a mock bow.
Now that was a life change and she couldn’t let it go unspoken. “Listen, I heard about what happened-”
He quickly dismissed the subject. “Forget it. It’s in the past.”
She understood and respected the fact he wouldn’t want to discuss it. “I just wanted to tell you…1 believe you’re innocent. Jason, you couldn’t have changed who you are in here.” Unable to help herself, she reached over and placed her hand on his heart. “I just thought you should know.”
At the unexpected touch, his nostrils flared, his pupils dilated and his heart rate kicked up beneath her palm.
Lauren slowly lowered her hand. “So you’re a contractor?” she asked, severing the physical connection.
“It’s what I know best.”
Next to snowboarding.
Years ago he’d told her how he’d gotten into the sport. Once he’d discovered the alternative to skiing, he’d started a snowboarding club at school, arranging trips to Wachusett Mountain an hour away. He raised money for equipment and practice time by working for his uncles in construction. A means to an end, not a passion. If anyone took fashion design away from her, she’d be adrift and miserable. She couldn’t imagine how Jason was getting by.
But he wouldn’t want her pity.
“I’m free to handle your job,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.
But she couldn’t handle the temptation of working side by side with him, day after day for the next few weeks. Heat rushed through her at the thought, which was exactly the reason she couldn’t hire him.
Lauren drew a deep breath. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but we can’t work together.”
He’d be a distraction that would keep her from focusing on the house. And if that weren’t enough of a problem, she didn’t want to spend time with him, get to know him again, grow more attached and face the pain she’d lived through once before. She didn’t want to fall in love with him all over again.
And she certainly didn’t want ties to this town after she was gone.
He raised an eyebrow and shot her a knowing look.
She ignored him. “Can you recommend anyone else?” she asked instead.
“I can.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “But none as good as me.”
She already knew that firsthand. Fire burned her cheeks and she hoped a blush didn’t give her away.
He paused for a good, long time. So long she wondered if he was going to even answer. Finally, he said, “Got a pen and paper?”
She dug through her purse and handed him what he asked for.
He scribbled names and numbers on her small notepad. “There are two other local contractors, one in Perkins, the other one here in Stewart. We refer each other when we’re overbooked.”
“Thanks.”
“Good luck.”
She nodded and reluctantly turned away, surprised and strangely disappointed he’d given in so easily.
CHAPTER FOUR
WHEN LAUREN REJECTED him, Jason’s fighting, competitive spirit returned. When he wanted something, he went after it, and he wanted Lauren Perkins. The woman and the job. She wanted the same thing. He’d seen the disappointment in her eyes when he’d given her those other contractors’ names. She was just too shocked to admit that their chemistry was as strong as ever. Jason intended to make sure they both got what they wanted.
Taking a page from his past, he decided the best way to accomplish his goal was to eliminate the competition. Growing up in a small town had its advantages. So did having uncles still working in subcontracting. Jason had enough contacts and friends in town to call in favors and even return a few to get what he wanted.
His first stop after Burt’s Hardware was a building site where he could find Greg Charlton, head of Charlton Construction, one of the names he’d given to Lauren. Jason had recently outbid Charlton on a job to renovate a large estate home on the edge of town. Their estimates had been close and the client would do well with either company. Though Jason could always use the money the job would bring, some things were more important. A brief meeting, confirmation with the client and a handshake later, and Charlton had taken over the estate home project from Jason’s company, and the other man had agreed to tell Lauren Perkins he was too busy to take on her renovation in the time frame she needed.